


Step

by AubreyPosenEsquire



Series: Random AU's [9]
Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-04
Updated: 2021-01-04
Packaged: 2021-03-14 21:56:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,012
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28552728
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AubreyPosenEsquire/pseuds/AubreyPosenEsquire
Summary: Bella Conrad has an important question: what's a step parent?
Relationships: Stacie Conrad/Aubrey Posen
Series: Random AU's [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1971802
Comments: 4
Kudos: 76





	Step

**Author's Note:**

> As the child of a single parent this one hits a little close to home. I hope that y'all enjoy. 
> 
> Thanks as always to G.

“What’s a step parent?”

Stacie looked over at her seven year old daughter. It was not a question she expected to be asked on a random Tuesday but it wasn’t one that she hadn’t expected to hear one day.

Bella looked up at Stacie as the two were sitting together on the couch, waiting for the answer. As far as she knew her moms knew just about anything that was worth knowing.

“It’s someone who is married to your biological parent.” Stacie turned her head to look at her daughter. “Aubrey is your step mom since she and I got married when you were three.”

Bella thought about it for a second, chewing her lip just like Aubrey did when something was bothering her. “So she’s not my real mommy?”

Stacie put her iPad down and shifted so Bella could crawl up in her lap, something the first grader did without hesitation. She let Stacie wrap her arms around her, always having been a cuddle bug. When she was little Bella would stay calm as long as Stacie was holding her or she was in a sling against her chest.

“Bells, just because Aubrey didn’t carry you inside of her doesn’t mean that you are any less her daughter than you are mine. She has been in your life since you were born and your mommy since you were three years old.” Stacie rubbed Bella’s back as the pair cuddled together.

“Daddy said that she is just a step parent and not my real mommy.” Bella admitted, her voice making it clear she was told not to tell Stacie about the comment.

“Oh, did he?” Stacie forced herself to keep her tone light.

When Stacie found herself pregnant in her mid 20’s by someone who had no real interest in being a father she hated that her first thought was that she was somewhat lucky. She was able to parent her daughter on her own terms, in her own way without someone who was more fun to grab a drink with and take to the club bathroom for a quickie with than worry about going to PTA meetings with and worrying about which family their daughter would be spending Christmas with.

Single motherhood wasn’t easy, far from it. There were nights she went to be hungry and more than she could count where she went to bed exhausted. She had days where she spent most of the time in between the experiments that she was paid to conduct questioning if she was cut out for motherhood. But she managed to handle it more or less without any detriment to Bella’s wellbeing.

Just before Bella turned three, she and Aubrey figured out their own unique baggage and managed to start dating. Soon enough Bella went from having one mom to having two. Having a second adult in the household - and a second paycheck now that Aubrey had ditched the lodge for a career in law - meant things changed for both Stacie and Bella in positive ways.

Aubrey and Stacie were able to coordinate time off when Bella had an event at her kindergarten. There were less overtime shifts for Stacie, which meant she had more time to take Bella to museums to start growing her daughter’s budding love of science. More often than not Aubrey was able to cook dinner - something Stacie had never gotten the hang of even if she was a skilled baker - which had made Bella a much less picky eater. And Stacie was finally able to get a taste of what a healthy, mature and stable relationship was like, allowing her to thrive at work and grow up even more as a person.

Things changed when Bella was just shy of her sixth birthday.

Sean Townsend, Bella’s biological father, had recently remarried and his new wife was in love with the idea that he had a daughter she could play dress up with and have in their perfect Christmas cards. Which meant Sean showed up on the Posen doorstep and for the first time in Bella’s life wanted to see her.

To say the unannounced appearance went over poorly might have been the biggest understatement since Fat Amy said the USO tour went just slightly off plan.

In the end Stacie agreed to allow Sean to have a role in his daughter’s life. Aubrey wanted her to have both a paternity test done and have a custody agreement worked out with a lawyer friend of hers who worked in family law.

Stacie protested the paternity test but she did think the custody agreement was a good idea. And so Sean was slated to spend every other weekend with his daughter as well as every Wednesday afternoon. Bella - who wasn’t happy about suddenly having a father show up after years of having Stacie and Aubrey raising her but who did have questions about her father that suddenly had the chance to be answered - went with Sean every time he came to pick her up. The problem was the custody agreement lasted just as long as the marriage between Sean and his former new wife.

And now two months after Sean stopped taking Bella at all, things he said and did would still poke their ugly heads up now and then. Stacie hated it but she tried to handle it as gracefully as she could.

“Mommy isn’t going anywhere.” Stacie promised her daughter. “She loves the both of us so much, Bells.” She hugged her daughter a little tighter as she felt a hand on her shoulder, looking up to see her wife standing there with a worried expression on her face.

Bella looked a bit shy now that Aubrey was downstairs, not wanting to hurt her feelings. She hid her face against Stacie’s shoulder.

“What’s going on?” Aubrey’s voice was soft as she tried to figure out just what was happening.

“We were talking about what a step parent is and the idea that you’re just as much her mom as I am.” Stacie locked eyes with her wife as Aubrey sat down next to her. She mouthed “Sean” to her to give Aubrey a heads up.

“Bella.” Aubrey felt her heart break at what she figured out was going on. Her hand reached down to take the little girl’s hand who looked more and more like her mother every day, from her long dark hair to her green eyes to the way she poked her tongue out just a little when she was thinking too hard. “Look at me honey.”

Bella managed to pick her head up enough to look at Aubrey.

“I might be your step mom but I am still your mom. I have known you since your mom called and I sang to you with the other Bellas to settle you down the day you were born. I’ve been there for the birthdays and the nightmares and the first days of school, I was there when you broke your arm after climbing a tree and I was there when you learned to ride a bike. You are my daughter, Bella. I love you and I’m not going anywhere.” Aubrey felt her voice tighten.

Bella started crying as she launched herself at Aubrey to hug her tightly. She pressed her face against her neck as Aubrey’s arms came up and wrapped around her frame to keep them both from tumbling off of the couch.

“Dad said you weren’t my real mommy.” Bella admitted. “But I told him you were. I said you came to parent’s day and told everyone about how you are a lawyer and you tuck me in and read me stories. How you make the best homemade pizza and how you sing with me in the car on the way to school every morning. I told him even if he didn’t like it. I think that’s why he doesn’t want to see me anymore.”

“Sweetie, you are not the reason that your dad isn’t seeing you anymore. Sometimes adults, well sometimes adults have problems that are bigger than they can handle.” Aubrey kissed Bella’s tear tracks away as she pulled back a little. “You are such a great kid and one day he may be able to see that. But for right now your mom and I are going to be right here.”

Bella nodded as she held herself to Aubrey, not wanting to move away from either of her parents right now. She had stopped crying but she still felt unable to move away from her supports.

“How about tonight we all get in our pajamas and we cuddle on the couch and watch a movie?” Stacie suggested. During the week Bella didn’t watch much TV or many movies.

“We can even have a little bit of hot chocolate.” Aubrey offered.

“Really?” Bella cracked a small smile at the offer.

“Go upstairs and change into your PJs, ok?” Aubrey smiled.

Bella wiped her face before all but running upstairs to get ready for bed so they could watch a movie together.

—————

Stacie and Aubrey didn’t really have a chance to talk about things until they were in bed that night. The pair got ready as they always did even if both were a bit quieter than they usually were.

“You are a good mother.” Stacie laid in bed on her face, facing her wife as she laid on her back. “Bella is lucky to have you and I am so lucky to be your wife.”

“I hate that he said something like that to Bella when he just pops into her life like he did.” Aubrey turned her head to look at Stacie. The sight of Stacie Conrad in her bed, glasses on, makeup off with her hair in a bun and a tank up on would never fail to make Aubrey feel like she was the luckiest woman on the face of the earth.

“Bree. You’re her mom.” Stacie reached her hand out to press it against Aubrey’s forearm.

“I love her. More than anything except you. More than the Bellas.” Aubrey admitted.

Stacie leaned up, kissing her wife’s jaw. “We’re honored.”

Aubrey turned her head before Stacie pulled back so they could share a kiss. “I love both of you, Stace.”

“We love you.” Stacie smiled.

“I want to change my last name.” Aubrey looked down at her hands as she folded them in her lap. “We never talked about it when we got married because our last names are both used professionally. And I may still use Posen professionally. But legally? I want to share the last name with my wife and my daughter.”

Stacie’s hand slid under the covers to rest on her wife’s thigh.

“How long have you been thinking about this?”

Aubrey bit her lip a moment. “Before Sean showed up. Maybe before we got married. It’s a little fuzzy now. But a while.”

“We’ve been married for years, Aubrey.”

Aubrey nodded. “I like to think about things for a long time, sometimes.”

“What am I going to do with you?” Stacie asked as her fingers spread out on Aubrey’s thigh.

“I hope spend the rest of your life with me.” Aubrey gave a nervous smile.

“That is going to happen with or without a name change or you overthinking.” Stacie said. “And for the record, I’d love it if you were Aubrey Conrad, even just personally.”

“Really?” Aubrey whispered.

“Really.” Stacie nodded.

Aubrey shifted down to bed to pull Stacie close to her, feeling her wife’s taller frame wrap around her. This right here was her happy place, in bed with Stacie while being wrapped up.

“I love you.”

“I love you too, Mrs. Conrad.”

Aubrey let out a small giggle.

“I just have to not think of my mother every time I say it.” Stacie made a face.

“How about I put some other images in your head while you keep saying it?” Aubrey raised an eyebrow.

“I know I married a smart one.” Stacie grinned as she rolled over to turn the light off.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are my love language.


End file.
